Jakarta, IO – Ian Wilson, political observer from Murdoch University in Australia, assesses that the direction of Indonesia’s diplomacy will continue to prioritize balance by implementing free and active foreign policy under the presidency of Prabowo Subianto.
Ian predicted that the official results from the KPU would not be far off from the quick counts carried out by various pollsters which showed that Prabowo-Gibran has a clear lead, per CNN Indonesia, Friday (16/2).
Ian also predicts that there will be no major changes regarding Indonesia’s foreign policy under the Prabowo administration. “In general, he would continue Indonesia’s non-aligned approach in the region,” said Ian.
Ian explained that Prabowo would prioritize the direction of his foreign policy when he said that he wanted to be friends with everyone. In other words, Indonesian people will see a continuation of Indonesia’s foreign policy.
“He doesn’t want to take sides in any tensions in the region between the United States and China,” said Ian.
A similar opinion was also expressed by international relations observer from the University of Indonesia, Yon Machmudi.
“Indonesia under Prabowo-Gibran will maintain balance, not siding with either America or China,” explained Yon.
Read: Indonesia Moves Up Four Spots In FIFA Rankings
Prabowo earlier praised the United States and China when attending the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) forum in November 2023.
He said the US had a historical role in pressuring the Netherlands to recognize Indonesia’s sovereignty in the 1940s. Prabowo also mentioned China’s vital role in Southeast Asia. The two superpowers have been vying for influence politically and economically in the strategically important Southeast Asian region. (un)